Tio Hardiman
Executive Director of Violence Interrupters, NFP
Tio Hardiman, Executive Director for Violence Interrupters, NFP, has dedicated his life and career to community organizing for peace and social change. In 1999, Mr. Hardiman joined CeaseFire, an award-winning public health model that has been scientifically proven to reduce shootings and killings. In 2004, Tio created the Violence Interrupters Initiative.
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“Violence is a major issue, a major concern, a major problem, and a menace to our quality of life here in the United States and throughout the world. Tio Hardiman has lived with it, grew up in it, studied it, worked with it, survived it and is now sharing some of his observations, experiences, understandings, and recommendations for how we cope with it and what we need to do to reduce and change it. Tio has lived inner-city life and culture in Chicago. As a matter of fact, for a period of time he and I were next door neighbors and would frequently share thoughts and ideas before going into our homes. As an activist with a master’s degree in inner-city studies, Tio has penned an interesting, must-read book of experiences gleaned from his research and work as a public health leader with CeaseFire in direct relationship with violence interruption as a concept and a reality. Tio has covered causation, prevention, violence interruption and what. comes next? I am confident that you will find this to be an intellectual stimulating book and a good read.”
Danny K. Davis, Ph.D.
Congressman, 7th District, Illinois
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Interrupting Gun Violence: The Public Health Approach Paperback – December 18, 2023
by Mr. Tio Hardiman (Author)
The Violence Interruption Front Lines, ft. Tio Hardiman
PRESS RELEASE
June 22, 2023
Tio “Mr. Ceasefire” Hardiman Receives A Presidential Lifetime Achievement Award For Nearly Two Decades of Frontline Work Interrupting Violence
Founder and Executive Director of Violence Interrupters Inc. Is Recognize for Saving Hundreds of Lives in Chicago and Beyond
CHICAGO – For his leadership and innovative crime prevention strategies, which have saved hundreds of lives over a 19-year period, Tio “Mr. Ceasefire,” Hardiman’s portfolio of work has given him an audience with a U.S. President, A First Lady of the U.S., a queen from the Middle East and a prime minister from Great Britian.
Monday night, Hardiman, the founder and executive director of Violence Interrupters Inc., was in the company of some of the most powerful business, community and political leaders in the Chicago area, who gathered for the Juneteenth Gala and Presidential Lifetime Achievement Award Celebration hosted by the Southland Black Chamber of Commerce.
Tio's Work to End Pitbull Dog Fighting Across the United States
One of the most barbaric forms of animal cruelty has an underbelly which for years has remained literally hidden in darkness: “Trunking” is dog fighting’s ugly secret.
Tio Hardiman knows what it’s like. He grew up in the projects on the West side of Chicago and helped set up the End Dogfighting program about five years ago. He says a lot of young guys who came to the early trainings didn’t have proper leashes and food, and didn’t know how to really deal with their dogs.Read More
News & Publications
Interrupting Gun Violence: The Public Health Approach
Paperback – December 18, 2023
by Mr. Tio Hardiman (Author)
Violence spreads like an infectious disease and should be treated as a public health emergency. Tio “Mr. CeaseFire” Hardiman, Founder of Violence Interrupters, shares his personal experiences as a young boy navigating the brutal streets of Chicago and the critical moments which led to his life’s decision to serve as a violence prevention expert.
In this book, Hardiman identifies the root causes and impacts of the gun violence epidemic in urban cities and introduces readers to the Public Health Approach, a revolutionized strategy Violence Interrupters has employed to stop the deadly disease from spreading.
Our Story
Let’s Change How We
Manage Conflict
Violence Interrupters, INC is a data-driven, violence reduction, research-based initiative. The Violence Interrupters Model relies on five components that work together to anticipate and interrupt the transmission of high risk events and change the social norms and behaviors that perpetuate violence.
